Public Servant Lifestyle

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is consulting on a planned code of practice to protect people who buy food online, or through other ‘distance selling’ methods.

The consultation is based on the findings of an independent report that made a number of recommendations - all aimed at ensuring people can feel as confident in the safety, labelling and quality of food when they purchase food 'at a distance', as when they buy it in shops.

The consultation is seeking views on the report’s recommendations - which include calls for:

1. Mail order food purchases to include the same information for consumers as legally required for traditional food purchases.

2. A code of practice, which would see mail order foods listing delivery times on the packaging, as well as instructions on how the package should be handled while in transit.

3. The FSA to publicise the fact that food bought from overseas may be subject to different labelling regulations.

4. The FSA to consult in Europe, with a view to developing an EU-wide code of practice.

According to the report, UK food sales over the Internet are growing rapidly. In 1999, they were worth an estimated £56 million. By 2000, the figure had leapt to £395 million. But this is still a tiny proportion of the offline food sale market, which was worth £90 billion in 1999.

Distance selling covered in the report also covers food bought from catalogues, leaflets, interactive television, and press advertisements.

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